Time Heals All Wounds
by RippahGoneWolf
Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well.
1. Midnight Shift

**A/n: I wanted to try this out and to see where it went. This is my first shot at Klaroline so bear with me. Go easy. Oh, if any of you like Daroline and Klaroline, I have a story called Wide Awake on my profile too. Check it out! I'm almost done with the next chapter. I hope that these chapters in this won't take too long if you do like this. Tell me what you think. **

**The pairing is Klaus and Caroline. **

**Rated T, so don't worry about anything inappropriate. There may be some violent images or mentions of sex, but that's about it.**

**Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well.**

**I got the idea for this while actually reading a couple of Twilight fics. I know, right! Crazy! I borrowed a little of the plotline that Stephycats7785 used for one of her stories. You should really read her stuff if you like Twilight. They are really good! Just saying! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries! **

Chapter 1: Midnight Shift

Dr. Niklaus Mikaelson had his fill for the night. He often wondered why he even volunteered for the night shift. He guessed that sometimes he liked the more or less absence of excitement when it came to the graveyard shift. Quieter, so he called it. When it comes to a small town like Mystic Falls, he didn't mind the quiet. It was rather peaceful and healthier for him.

Living in the bustling city of London for almost all of his life, he won't admit that he's turned into a rather weary workaholic. Not that he was neglecting anything important. He helped his family when they needed it. He got his daily fill of what every man needs if you know what that means. He's single. No kids. Nothing to worry about, right?

He got his medical degree a while before he came into the states. He seriously contemplated about going there where his older brother, Elijah and his wife, invited him to stay with him and his family. That was two years ago. At the time though, it was the best option he had. It was either start fresh or keep on reliving the bitter and damned memories that showed up everywhere in London. Therefore, he grabbed everything he owned and never looked back.

"Alright, Bonnie. Everything seems to be well so far with your grandmother. You're lucky, though. That fall she had didn't injure her too badly," he said to the distraught woman sitting in front of him shaking her leg up and down as he wrote down on his clipboard.

"Are you sure? I'm mean you could have missed something. No doctor is perfect." Just what he needed. Someone questioning him how he did his job. He understood how worried she was about her grandmother. Sheila Bennett, one of his most vocal and frequent patients, was all Bonnie Bennett had left as family so she had every right to be concerned. Even Klaus had been in the same spot as she had, and he was even a doctor too as well. Nevertheless, there was a certain line of when to stop. Klaus often wondered how that tough old goat was still living with all the appointments she comes in for. Especially, because of the fact the elder Bennett drank like a whale and wasn't the one for sitting around all the time.

"How about you just worry about her wellbeing than worry about how I do my job, love?" he asked hiding his annoyance to himself from her.

"My wellbeing is just fine, child! There's nothing wrong with me. Don't let my granddaughter get to you," Sheila sharply told him. Klaus couldn't help, but smirk at the older woman's remark. She was a Bennett through and through.

"Grams…" Bonnie scolded.

"It's okay, Sheila. I don't mind at all. It helps me to keep on my toes. I always like a challenge." He didn't mind really. It helps him to stay focused on his job. Working in this field for a while, you get a completely wide range of patients that come into the hospital. The one in Mystic Falls was a little smaller, but it still functioned well enough on its own. He and his brother were both doctors at the hospital they worked. Elijah was actually the one who helped him land a job at Mystic Falls General in the first place. Klaus had told him more than one occasion that he owed Elijah for helping him when he was in a rut, but often Elijah refused him. He only wanted to help his brother. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Family is family.

"Well, I'm going to recommend that you just be careful of where you go. Watch out of how much alcohol you in take. Moreover, maybe if you want, I can get you some antibiotics to help if there is any unprecedented pain. If there is anything unusual, call me. You already have my number on my card. If I'm not in, call my brother. He'll let me know what I need to catch up on." He wrote down more on his clipboard and gave them the prescription.

"WHEW! Thank the Lord! I'm out of this place. I need to get out of this chair. I've been on my ass way too long. I feel old." The older Bennett was already up and ready to get out.

"Grams, you are…" Bonnie started, but was cut off silently by the older woman's sharp glare.

"Don't even start if you know what's good for you." Sheila went out of the room making her way assumingly to the lobby. Bonnie rolled her eyes at her Gram's antics.

"We'll keep in touch." Bonnie said to him in gratitude as she finally followed her grandmother out of the room too as well. When Klaus was alone to himself, he made his way to the bathroom stopping in front of the sink turning on the faucet with his hands.

Letting the cold water splash his eyes, he made note of the dark circles under his eyes. Definitely not enough. The nightmares hadn't been coming as much anymore like, they used to be, but they made their presence known once or twice sometimes. He ran a hand through his light brown to blonde hair. He knew he couldn't go on like this. If he kept on, he's not going to be able to act well enough to work. As much as he would rather not admit to such trivial weakness, he was human and his body has needs. It needed rest.

He exited the bathroom and before he could think of sitting down to rest, the emergency room doors burst opened with his best friend (and future brother in law), Stefan Salvatore carrying an unconscious blonde woman in his arms with his sister, Rebekah, rushing behind him.

Her body had cuts covering her pale skin in little red stripes. Her eyes were closed and appeared sunken it with dark circles under her eyes making them seem hollow. Her face appeared sunken in as well showing more of the cheekbones than they shouldn't have. There were also dark bruises peppered around the skin too leaving blue-purplish spots along. He had enough suspicion to know there was a factor of abuse somewhere in this and judging from the severity of the bruises, they didn't look all too good. However, what really sent a chill down his spine was her pronounced pregnant belly seeming to point to look like it was about ready to pop. Now, it was really going to get serious to a completely new level.

"Stefan, what happened?" he asked his best friend as his usual response to an emergency.

The Salvatore's face was grim and worried as he laid the blonde woman on the hospital stretcher that stood in the hallway. Even though he was the younger of the two handsome brothers, the frown lines on his forehead aged him about five years with the worrying he puts himself through. He already had enough on his plate as it is. "We found her on the side of the road coming back from meeting with the planner on the wedding."

"Was she unconscious when you found her?" Klaus asked trying to see any other injuries she may have had.

"Of course, she bloody was, Nik! We're not daft! Shouldn't you be checking to see if she's gone into the labor? I mean she is pregnant." His sister exasperated. His tolerance level was already at a low-level tonight. He didn't need to worse than it already was. His sister was the last person he needed to aggravate him by telling him what he needed to do. That was one of his biggest pet peeves. He had enough from some people questioning him that he didn't need it also from his own family. And seeing the woman in front of him who could be possibly dying with the innocent life inside her was pushing him closer to the edge.

"Unless you want to keep your head, I suggest you keep your mouth shut," he darkly spoke.

His sister's body bristled with anger, but Stefan calmed her down. "Easy, Bekah. Let's just get her to Elijah. He'll help her."

Klaus did a quick check on the area of the baby, but quickly frowned at the result. The woman's cervix was already dilating. She must have been in labor for hours. It was getting close too. If they didn't get it out in time…no. That's not going to happen. Not on his watch.

"We need to get this baby out now," he stated as he quickly he paged his brother, "Elijah! We need you in the Emergency Room! ASAP!"

Thirty seconds later, his brother stormed in with his white lab coat whipping behind him. "What happened, Niklaus?"

Klaus's facial expression darkened turning grim and determined. "She's needs a C-section quickly. The baby could be dying."

That was enough for Elijah not to question his brother about what he had to. There were no more words needed. "I'll take her in and operate. It shouldn't take long. Nurse!"

Soon enough, nurses came around doing their duties with the pregnant woman lying there on the stretcher. Elijah and nurses rolled their new patient down into the O.R. until Klaus, Stefan, and Rebekah could not see them anymore. Klaus was tense and frozen trying all that he could to keep his mind from reeling off. His mind went blank. The image of her burned into his memory. It reminded him too much. Not again. It couldn't happen again.

"She's in good hands, Klaus. Your brother will take care of her," he reassured the troubled doctor, "do you want me to go back around the area and ask around? We could find out who she is."

Coming back to reality, Klaus shook his head. "No. Let's just call in the sheriff to see if maybe she can identify her. She knows practically everyone in this one pony town. It shouldn't be that hard to do. It's late too. Go home and get your rest. I'll keep you posted on what happens."

Stefan and Rebekah didn't say anything else. They went ahead along their way as Klaus stood there holding himself against the wall trying to steady himself. He didn't know what who that woman was, but he knew her story probably wasn't great as a spring day picnic. There was more to her than meets the eye. Little did he know, it was only a matter of time before those things for him would change directly because of that woman who was brought it?


	2. Lost, but Now Found

**A/n: Wow! I got a good start with this. That's nice of all of you. So far, this story has 10 reviews, 6 favorites, and 22 story alerts. That's a really nice way to start off. I want to get more reviews. Reviews help inspire me to get the next update up. It helps out. **

**I would like to thank those who reviewed: Stephycats7785, DarolineWritingGoddess, Grace5231973, seaofwords22, AgathaN,** **nicaha23, klauslove, MarsterRoo, and everyone else. **

**Special Dedicated Thanks to Stephycats7785 for being the first reviewer for this story and inspiring me to do this. She's so sweet and she's an amazing writer too! **

**Another Special Dedicated Thanks to Sci-fi Christian who reviewed as well. She's a really great supportive friend to me and a great writer. I love her opinion on things, because she's also a greater writer for Klaroline. OMG. She has a bunch of Klaroline stories you can get your hands on. My personal favorites are Return and Remember and Klaus' Christmas Angel. I made the banners for her stories too. **

**And, last but not least: klauslove and MarsterRoo! They're seriously like the Queens of Klaroline stories. They seriously got a lot of great stories on hers too. You should really take a chance and look at their stuff. It's an honor to have them review my story! **

**It's a hobby so if you ever want a banner for your story. Let me read it first, and I'll see what I can do. I love to help out. **

**Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well.**

**Yay, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries! Anyone ready for the new episode tonight? **

Chapter 2: Lost, but Now Found

Elijah walked out of the operating room scrubs and all taking off the latex gloves and surgical cap off his head. He had just finished an hour's work of surgery on their newest patient that happened to be carried in by Stefan Salvatore. While he had delivered the baby by via caesarian section, it was healthy thankfully. Everything seemed normal for now. It wasn't underweight. No abnormal abscesses or anything out of the ordinary he could find superficially. However, there were still some tests he would have to run before he could make that kind of diagnosis for sure.

As for the mother however, he became more gravely alarmed. There was more damage than he anticipated. He called into the lab for their current "Jane Doe's" blood work for the routine checks they always do. They usually looked for anything like drugs, diabetes, or any sexual diseases she may have carried on. Though he was still pending on that, there were other issues at hand.

The pregnancy wasn't the only thing he had felt uneasy of. Their Jane Doe's skin was littered with more bruises when they prepped her up for operation. He remembered seeing the purple-bluish discoloration all around her arms and legs indicting signs of abuse or struggle. He found also tearing in the pelvic area as he did operate the C-Section also raising the suspicion that she may have been a rape victim as well. There were hidden contusions all around the occipital area of the skull and around the temple area. That caused a bit of a case of apprehension for Elijah. Because after all, any injury to the temporal lobe could be fatal if not treated properly in time. It brings up a plausible questioning of any more extent of her injuries that she may have had.

His biggest concern was for his younger brother that became his priority now as he wondered off to find him. He couldn't help feeling more than just concern for him. God knew that his brother was worse for worn than he intended to hide. Nevertheless, after knowing him for so long since growing up as children Niklaus still managed to keep that broken part of him to himself. It had only been two years. The wounds were still fresh.

He knew of how his brother wasn't taking care of himself. Elijah wasn't stupid. He could tell just by the way the man just threw himself into work just drowning himself voluntarily into it. The doctors told Elijah that Niklaus needed psychiatric help, but he refused to believe in that. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to be a mental ward cell alone with no family to lean on. Therefore, he told Niklaus to come to America where he could have a fresh start. Niklaus didn't even refuse him or give it a second guess.

He was proud to announce that Klaus had made progress from when he came those years ago. He had come a long way. However, he was a deeply scarred man, and Elijah knew that well. He knew his brother would never admit it, but he was a good man despite the circumstances. He was always disappointed in Niklaus for how he never gives himself enough credit.

Elijah had made it to the lounge to find Klaus sipping the cheap black coffee the hospital provided. He really needed to remind himself to see if they can get a better quality of brand of coffee around here. "Well, Niklaus. It's a good thing I found you after all. I was beginning to wonder if you were still here at all."

Klaus took one last swig of his coffee before he tossed the cup into the trashcan. "I volunteered for the midnight shift at my own risk. I might as well do my share, brother. I do know you're not just here to check up on me so see I've gone bonkers."

Straight to the point as usual. "Just so you know, we finished the cesarean on our new patient. We were lucky Stefan did bring her in time, or otherwise the child would've been worse."

Klaus's eyes widened at the mention of the new patient. "Is she alright?"

"The mother or child?"

"You know what I mean, Elijah! Who else would I be- wait a minute? She had a –" Klaus didn't finish his sentence because Elijah answered it for him.

"Yes, Niklaus. She had a daughter. I'd have to say though. As healthy the baby was when she came out, I can't say so much for the mother, unfortunately," Elijah explained to him with his facial expression grim.

If it were even possible, Klaus' face darkened even more than Elijah had seen before. He had observed this all too familiar sight from his brother before. He almost physically cringed at the very memory or mention of so memory. There was an unspoken rule of never mentioning the subject when Klaus was around. Sometimes, it even seemed as if the walls had ears just waiting for someone to say something about it. Klaus's anger was unpleasant as it was, but it took to a completely new level when it came down to that. It's just better to leave him alone when he's up in a rage. Even for Elijah, he had to tread carefully around his brother, but he couldn't just avoid what he had to tell him. Better to get things over with than to postpone it and make it worse.

Klaus's insides twisted with dread the emotions he desperately wanted to stay dead. No. This can't be happening. Not again. All his thoughts were coming in too fast. Too much all at once. Slowly he asked, "What's her current condition?"

Elijah breathed a heavy sigh looking at his clipboard. "The tests for her blood work are still pending so I cannot say if there is anything wrong with her internally. However, with the bruises evident on her skin, I know you and I have come to suspect a level of abuse may have something to do with this. But, that's not the only thing I am most alarmed about at the moment."

The very thought of someone abusing that innocent woman, especially one in such a precarious state, created a very evil desire to hunt that bastard down to give him what he deserved. Klaus had always thought here was a special place in hell for those who stooped so low to that level. He had seen too much of enough violence to last him a lifetime.

"What else have you found out?" An unwanted foreboding chill came down his spine as he inquired to his elder brother. He hated this feeling of not knowing what to do. He felt more secure when he was in control. Saving someone's life was like a certain balm he used for himself knowing he's useful this time around instead back in the past when he wasn't in control. To every extent he could imagine, he always hid away these insecurities to the deepest part of himself that he could find.

"She had some damage around the back of the head, and I'm afraid to say that she also has damage around her temples as well. That would explain why she isn't waking up with her mind temporarily down at the moment. Who knows how long it'll be before she wakes up? I administered some painkillers to help her with the pain. Have you gotten any word about Sheriff Forbes?" Elijah further explained the situation regretting to be the messenger. It saddens him to have to say anything like this to his brother.

"She should be here by now. Blasted woman! Police never get anywhere in time!" He snapped impatiently walking towards the exit of the lounge. There were many things he found an annoyance. However, after what happened, he found himself in detest for the police no matter where he went. His reasons were personal, but the answer he usually gave out was that they were never reliable. He still hated that he had to call upon the sheriff of all people, but it was the best shot they had. They had the only practical one.

"Niklaus, control yourself." He urged his brother feeling the anger and tension from Klaus in waves. However, Elijah's try to console him fell upon deaf ears. Elijah was dreading what Klaus was going to lash out at. He quickly followed him watching to see what he would do.

Coming in through the entrance, came in Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes. Older woman, but still as sharp as ever, she did everything she could to make the law sound in Mystic Falls. As sheriff for more than a decade and a half, she's close to retirement with at least one more year left under her belt to kill. Over the years though, a combination of extenuating circumstances had made the officer grow weary and tired. She would never admit it because she's still determined to her job, as her duty is to protect the citizens of this town.

Liz knew Klaus wasn't overly fond of her. He never has been, but his anger didn't help the issue. She didn't want any trouble with the heated doctor. She just wanted to her job as simple as possible. She was relieved when she saw Klaus's brother following close behind him settling into the mediator role.

"I'm not here to start trouble," she said aware of Klaus's steady glare at her, "What do you want me to do?"

Before Klaus can say something condescending, Elijah beat him to talk to the sheriff. "We need you to identify someone. You know every part of Mystic Falls and everyone in it. We were hoping you would be able to identify our newest patient. She has nothing viable as to identify her with."

She nodded her head in understanding. "Okay. Can you show me to her room? I'd like to think you wish to get this done sooner."

"Follow me," Elijah said leading the way into one of the elevators. Klaus and Sheriff Forbes followed closely behind him. After what it seemed like forever with the thick tension one can cut with a knife, they stopped off from the elevator to the ICU floor.

"She's down this hall in one of the recovery rooms. She's in a coma at the moment, so she's not able to speak. Stefan Salvatore brought her in earlier claiming that he found her on the side of the road," Elijah informed Liz of the newest patient.

"Are you even going to tell her the rest of the situation?" Klaus mockingly asked his brother with his light blue eyes still blazing in vindictive anger by her presence.

"Patience, Niklaus. Let her process the situation first before we just throw her in half-heartedly," Elijah knew somewhat for the reasoning of Klaus's loathing for Sheriff Forbes, but he was rather tired of all the negativity. Lord, knew his family had enough of it in their lives.

Klaus's body bristled as his anger kept at it trying to take over with his face dangerously close to Elijah's own. "Don't patronize me, _brother! _This could be another case when a sworn officer of the law had failed to do her duties yet _again_."

Liz just stayed silent feeling more of the familiar guilt coming back to her. As much she had tried to forget it, there was always ways it would come back to haunt her. She didn't blame the angry man for feeling what he did. If anything, she welcomed it as a reminder for the other sins that she regretted that she failed to reconcile on. "Please…" she pleaded quietly. "Just finish telling me, Elijah."

"Of course," completely forgetting Klaus's outburst, "when Stefan brought her in, she was pretty badly off with signs of abuse and negligence. To top it off, she was also in heavy labor when they brought her in so I had to operate. She's recovering now, but we still need the help if you don't mind."

"I'll see what I can do."

Elijah opened the door to the patient's room and watched as they all went inside. Klaus's eyes settled to the unconscious form lying in the hospital bed. After seeing the blood away from her skin, he took in the blonde's presence. Her blonde waves were cascaded on her pillow sleeping peacefully as if she was unaware of the damage brought onto her. It was almost abnormal not to see her with her once pregnant belly now back to its original flat state. He couldn't deny that she did have some look to her. Before he could process any more thought, a sudden broken gasping could be heard from the Sheriff.

"Oh, my God. It couldn't…no. It couldn't be. How? When?" The sheriff staggered back in shock almost falling back to Klaus's arms losing her balance much to Klaus's dismay.

"What is it, woman?!" He asked enough with the woman's incessant squabbling.

"She's my…my…she's my daughter," she answered finally.


	3. Blind, Now I Can See

**A/n: I just watched the new episode of VD. It was…wow. There's definitely trouble in paradise. I didn't get my Klaroline stuff like I wanted, but at least I saw the Originals. KOL AND REBEKAH ARE BACK! OMG! Klaus was still so epically hot in this episode. There were still some heavy plot holes in the episode. I hope they come up with some explanation for all of it. I feel so sorry for Stefan and Tyler. They shouldn't have to go through all the stuff they went through. I don't like Elena hurting him, but the Stebekah ship is coming and I'm on board with it. **

**I totally love the support I have been getting with this story! I want to thank those who reviewed the last chapter! DarolineWritingGoddess, Stephycats7785, klauslove, Babi, Sci-fi Christian, First Quadrant, Nameless Secret Keeper, AgathaN, MarsterRoo, and louann97.**

**I still hope all of you like where the story is going on. I don't write usually this short. Usually, the most common I go is to 3K to 5K. I'm not sure why it's shorter this time. It'll get longer eventually. I promise. **

**Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well.**

**Thank you Stephy for helping me with the summary! Also thanks for Babi for helping me make sure everything was right with the characters and her insight. She's such a great friend! You really need to read her stuff! It's awesome!**

**I may change the rating form T to M later on, so it's subject to change. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries! **

Chapter 3: Blind, Now I Can See

So the plot thickens…

This isn't what Klaus expected when he took this job. It can't possibly be true. "You don't really expect us to believe that she's actually your daughter? It's a sick bloody joke!"

Or could it?

"I'm her mother, Klaus. I may have not been the best, but I damn well know enough who she is and what she looks like. If you want proof, I'll take a DNA test if I have to. Then you can get whatever results you want. But, I know she's my daughter with or without the test," Liz answered back to him in a tired voice, but she wasn't afraid to stand her ground.

"Is there anything you can go by that proves she is your daughter?" Elijah kept glancing between the sheriff and their sleeping patient.

Liz sighed heavily futilely trying to calm herself down. "I remember being there with her when she got her tattoos one summer. It was a while back. She has a star tattoo on her right foot and a bird tattoo on her left wrist."

Klaus taking the initiative, he made his way to the edge of the bed where her feet were staying. He pulled back the blanket seeing her bare feet in the lighted room. With professional hands, Klaus turned over the blonde's right foot looking at her ankle feeling the smooth skin covered in cuts, scratches, and bruises. There around her ankle bone, he saw the small, but distinguishable black inked star tattoo. Trying not to deter from the task, he kept his focus on trying to prove Liz wrong.

There could not possibly be any way that this young woman was the Sheriff's daughter. He walked closer to the He walked closer to the young woman and lifted her wrist. There he also saw the same black ink again, but with a tattoo of a bird. "As much as I hate to admit I'm wrong, Sheriff Forbes is right. The tattoos match up with her description. Does she have a name?"

"Caroline," she answered him.

Liz couldn't stop the tears pricking her eyes. Caroline had been missing for some time, and Liz always carried that guilt on her shoulder like a cross. If only she had done something on her end. It may have prevented all of the heartache and anger that came between them. She admits that she should've been a better mother to her. After her divorce with Bill, she had become married to her job leaving her little girl alone half the time to fend herself while Liz was defending the town.

"Would you still be available to give some blood for a test?" Elijah asked carefully.

She gave a quick nod. "Certainly. But, you need me to give me one favor."

"What else could she possibly want?" he mumbled under his breath. Elijah sent a warning glare to his brother, but no good would it do to Niklaus. Klaus was still going to be the way he was no matter who tells him. Klaus rarely had good manners anyway.

"Forgive me of my brother. You know how he can be," he apologized.

Sheriff Forbes acted as if she never heard Klaus and paid her attention to the elder brother. She completely ignored Klaus entirely as she spoke to Elijah. "I want to see my grandchild. You told me she was in heavy labor when Stefan brought her in. Caroline's my daughter so that makes me technically a grandmother."

"I can bring you to see her once we get this relation problem cleared up. Unfortunately, only family or medical staff can go in there due to our policy. It will take at least a couple of days before we get the results back. But, you're welcome to visit them when you like to once this is done." Elijah tried his best to please the older woman. As much as he wanted to bring her there first thing, he had to follow certain guidelines that came in with this line of work.

Klaus had to turn his head away in disgust. He almost threw up at the almost sentimental actions of his brother. It was sickening and weak. When did Elijah ever have to grovel to please someone? If it were up to him, he would have sent the squabbling and incompetent woman on her way.

"Just let me know and call of my daughter's progress. Let me know when I can see her. The sooner the better if that's okay," She said with urgency as she headed to the door. In addition, much to Klaus's chagrin, it only peaked his curiosity a bit.

"Why in such a hurry? Why her? Obviously, you think that you had some fault in this, didn't you?" he asked in contempt with a malicious sneer tugging on his lips.

Nevertheless, Liz paid no heed to his insults. She knew her sins. As much as she wanted to be rid of them, she felt too guilty and too honest to such a thing. Now, Caroline's back safe finally. There may be…just maybe…

She turned around and faced Klaus head on. "Because these past few years, I've had this weight on my shoulders. And everywhere I went, there was always a reminder of what I had done. All of my mistakes stared at me in the face. Then that feeling of knowing I had a chance to change everything that I wasted."

Klaus antagonized her still wanting more of answer. "But, still? Why her? Why now?"

She gave a longingly glance to her daughter. "Because I never thought I would get another chance to make things right, and this time I'm not going to waste it."

With that, she left the two brothers and her daughter alone in the room. Without her presence, Klaus's heightened emotions slowly dwindled down to their normal levels. Elijah, though, was ashamed at his younger brother's behavior. Klaus could tell he wasn't pleased with him, but he could care less. He wasn't some insolent child.

"Well, that worked well," he remarked.

"Really, Niklaus? Was all of that necessary? You're acting like a child." Elijah asked him. How his brother kept all the energy to be like that is beyond his understanding?

"I think you've mistaken me for Kol, dear brother. I suggest you hold your tone for someone who really needs it."

Elijah brought his hand to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes exhaling quietly. Maybe that was the wrong way to put it. "Let me rephrase that. I understand that you're feel –"

"Elijah," he stated dangerously, "save me from your act of pity. I don't need anyone's pity. Let alone pity from my own brother."

Klaus and pity do not mix. He had quite a couple on his list that he disliked, detested, loathed, and hated. It was pretty taxing to list. To note though for future reference, someone feeling pity towards him just aggravated him like nails going down a chalkboard. Running for the hills seemed like a good option if one who didn't know Klaus, so well if caught in the middle of his wrath. However, for Elijah, it just a matter of patiently and calmly straightening his impulsive brother to logical reasoning.

"All I'm saying is that you don't have to be like this every time an officer of the law enters your presence. It wasn't right what you did. It was out of line." Oh, will he ever shut up? To be honest, Klaus doesn't think he ever will.

"Oh, like you're a man of morals. Don't act so noble around me. It doesn't suit you all too well." Klaus retorted to Elijah's reprimand about to leave. But, before he could get out his elder brother grabbed a strong hold of his shoulders, and tossed him against the wall holding him in place.

"I've made my share of mistakes, Niklaus. But, don't make my patience for weakness," he cautioned him in a low tone. To Elijah's pleasing, his brother started to finally relax shrugging Elijah's hands off his shoulders with a quick jerk.

"Now, that you've calmed down to an at least somewhat to a workable level." Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother's ever-dulling voice lecturing him. "You got so involved with your ever…what's the word? Oh! Your ever engaging ways with this patient's well-being. Therefore, I'm assigning you to Caroline as your patient."

Klaus for a very rare moment was rendered speechless. "You're kidding?"

"No, Niklaus. I'm not." Of course, he wasn't kidding. That's a little redundant to ask.

"When do I ever take orders from you?"

"Since you came here under my watch. I made a promise to the chief I would keep you under wraps, and do far you've done well. You don't need any more mistakes. Besides, maybe this will actually do some good for you for once. By the way, you're going to need this." Elijah handed him a small piece of folded paper. As Klaus held it in his hands, he didn't recognize the writing. It was a list of names.

"When we prepped her for surgery, we found this in one of the pockets of her clothes. I'm assuming it's a list of what she might have wanted to name her daughter. Like, I said it's your job. Good luck," Elijah saluted to him as if he was sending him to a battle. Klaus really couldn't fathom this. What has the world come down to? Sometimes he wondered if his brother even came from the same planet as Klaus did.

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" he exasperated waving his arm at him.

"I'm going to call my wife. Last time I checked, I don't need anyone's permission. I think you've mistaken me for Rebekah. Save the overprotective brother tone for someone who needs it because I certainly don't."

Elijah left Klaus in the room without another word. Klaus refused to look like the fool in this. But, he couldn't help the next string of words that came out of his mind.

"Bloody hell…"

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

"_You better have a good explanation for this. You usually don't stay out this late even with a busy schedule,"_ he heard his wife's voice in the background not pleased. A familiar small smile turned his lips up hearing her. She always was strong and wasn't afraid to get what she wanted. That fiery personality attracted Elijah to her in the first place like a moth to a flame. There was always something alluring about women of her bloodline as if they could cast a spell over them. His wife knows she did it to him practically and look how far they've come.

"There was a last minute emergency at the hospital. A pretty interesting one if I may add." He listened in to the sounds he heard from the other side of the line. All he could make out was shuffling of sheets of their king-sized bed as he came to suspect his wife lied in with the phone in her hands. He could only imagine what she would be doing right now.

_"__Oh, 'Lijah,"_ she sighed bored twisting one of her curls in her hair, _"You know nothing garners my attention that easily. Unlike you and your handsome self. What is it about Mikaelson men that just send women reeling after you? Good looks? Charm? Have any of you figured it out yet?" _

She must have already figured out she always had a way over him that only she can make use of. He loved his wife and family, but she can be very trying at times. Well, women are generally very trying to deal with in general.

"I'm sure if you asked Kol, he would be delighted to give that answer," he answered to her.

_"Oh, puh-lease. I don't need an answer from him. Nevertheless, as much as I love males in general there's only one man in my life, and I'm usually picky when it comes to what I want. But, I already have it. That's you. Kol is a boy compared to you. I love a man. It's kind of a bonus that I have a man that not only is a doctor at work, but also plays well at home too. Fuck playing doctor, do you want to play gynecologist? We could have whatever you want. Right here…right now…" _There she went again with the bedroom talk, granted what they did in the bedroom stayed in the bedroom.

"Now would not be a really good time. Are you sure they won't hear you, though? They have hearing skills like hawks," Elijah tried to stop her, but she kept on urging him.

"_Come on, sexy. You know you want me. Even right where you're standing. I could come in and – oh, crap!" _Elijah laughed softly at his wife's act cut short. She's not as sly as she used to be. That was then he couldn't hear her seducing talk anymore, but that motherly side of her that took hold when it came to their children. She probably didn't realize that her phone was on speaker. "_Now, honey what are you doing up so late? You should be asleep." _

That was when he heard his child's voice on the other end coated with sleep. _"I had a bad dream, Mom. Can I stay with you?"_

He heard his wife sigh on the other end of the line. _"Okay, but just this once. Your dad would kill me the lecture on how it's best for you to stay in your own bed." _Then he heard more shuffling noises in the background, but what made his heart melt was the contented sigh that escaped his child's mouth as sleep took over. He knew there was another reason why he fell in love with the woman he called his "one and only."

"Is she asleep now?" he asked her.

_"For now. You just get home, okay. I'm losing my patience," _she mockingly joked with a sly smile he knew was on her lips.

"Anything you say, **mea regina**." Elijah whispered to his wife only. He took his own gander of seduction at her. His wanted reaction from her was guaranteed from the undeniable of pleasure that ran away with her.

"_Ugh! I hate it when you do that. That's my skill only I can get away with! Just come home!" _

"I will. Don't worry. We'll talk more later." The line went after that as she had ended the call. Elijah took his phone and put it back into the drink holder in the middle of the console. He turned the keys in the ignition hearing the engine of his car roar to life. He was thankful that he was in the car when he called her. He knew that if anyone of his family had heard his conversation with her, they'd definitely use it as some sort of blackmail in the future.

He pondered to himself. "I wonder how Niklaus is fairing."

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

**That's chapter 3 for you! Tell me what you thought of it. More reviews, please! Anyone got any idea of who Elijah's wife is? Anyone who guesses gets a free cookie? **

**Also, remember this. There is always a reason for why everyone's behaviors. A cause and effect sort of thing. I know the chapters are shorter than what I usually put out. It will get longer later on. **

**Hope you liked the new chapter!**


	4. Family

**A/n: Welcome back to Time Heals All Wounds! Oh! I loved all the guesses all of you put into the reviews. Well, all of you will get to find out who she is. And everyone who guessed right will get a cookie! LOL. Personally, that was the funniest part of the thing to me that I wrote. The funny thing was that I had to actually look up pick-up lines on some dating site. I know that's random, but it's funny to me.**

**Wow, I never thought I would be up to thirty reviews by chapter 3. I got over 1300 hits with this already. I'm stunned. My other story called Wide Awake has more than 7K hits now. YAY! I want to thank all you so much. Thanks to all of those who alerted, faved, and reviewed my story. **

**Those who reviewed: DarolineWritingGoddess, hotchfan1, Stephycats7785, Sci-fi Christian, MarsterRoo, Babi, Grace5231973, First Quadrant, Nameless Secret Keeper, and PhsyVamp. **

**When I first wrote this, I didn't know what I was going to do. What I do plan to do is that THAW is going to be a slow-burning story. It's going to take a while for Klaus and Caroline to get together. Both of them have their own problems to deal with. The best romances are the slow-burning ones. As much as I want them to get together right off the bat, I'm not going to do it. Enjoy the story!**

**Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well.**

**Rated T. Maybe be subject to change so keep an eye out. **

**Please review! It helps to keep the chapters going faster!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries! **

Chapter 4: Family

Sunlight spilled in through the blinds as morning came around. Everyone was sound asleep in the house. Not a creature was stirring. Not even a mouse – wait! No, that was wrong. There was one person awake about to make its presence known.

Three…

Two…

One…

"MOMMY! DADDY!" said the voice of their demanding three-year-old son.

And, here they go again. Thank God, it was a Saturday morning. It wasn't unusual for their son to be out of bed later in the morning. Although, Elijah had been working with the late emergencies and his wife had taken care of the kids with her job as a hair stylist. Therefore, both parents had been more on the tired end of the scale. Usually, they were ready to go before their kids were up anyway. His wife was an early riser due to habit by when it came to taking care of her daughter before she met Elijah.

"He called you first," Elijah said still with his eyes closed.

She groaned in her sleep slipping out of his arms to snuggle more in with her daughter. "You're his parent just as much as I am. It's your turn to tend to him."

Before Elijah could reply to her, their son voiced his presence again. If anything, anyone would have thought it was louder than the first time. "MOMMY! DADDY!"

Deciding not discuss further, he got out of his bed to see what the hub was about with his son.

"Chase, what's wrong?" he asked coming up to him.

Chase lifted his arms up high indicating what he wanted, "Up!"

Elijah rolled his eyes. Of course, only his son would cause such a ruckus just to demand attention. Well, then one would have to look up the genetics that factored into the situation. No one can say he got this from his father. This had his mother's genetics written all over. Then again, Elijah did marry her for a reason. Life was never boring in the Mikaelson household, but he wouldn't change it for the world. This was his life, and he was thankful to have despite the several misfortunes he came across in his life.

"You wanted attention? Was that it?"

Chase gave him a look only his mother could pull and said, "Duh!"

Oh, here we go again. That was his favorite word of the month ever since he caught one of his daughter's friends saying when they had their little sleepover. Since then, he would never stop saying it. Elijah never encouraged backtalk among their children, but he never had to worry about that too terribly with his eldest. She was too shy to speak out like that which surprised him when he first met her years back. Really though? Look at who her mother was.

He picked up his son into his arms and ruffled his big flop of chocolate-colored hair bringing out laughter from the little boy with his hazel eyes gleaming happily. He glanced at the other side of the bed to where he watched his wife coax their daughter out of their bed. Not many people would think this was possible, but not many people had the chance to get to know who his wife truly was. Most people at first glance thought she was up to no good like the one she was a wild child of some sorts. However, that's what she wanted you to think.

She had told Elijah later on during their relationship what had happened to her reluctantly in her past. It took him many tries to convince her to let him meet her family, even if it was a small one. Annoyed with the requests and she had seen how she has his trust, she finally gave in. Then one day, she brought him to her home granted that she was taking the relationship then to a completely new level. She was opening a side to him she hardly let anyone see.

When he did step inside of the apartment that day, there sitting on the living room floor with her coloring books was the most beautiful little girl he ever saw. Little Annabelle.

The little girl's physical features were a little different, but she had genes of her mother present in her. She had an oval face with wide almond-shaped brown eyes. Instead of her mother's olive tone, she inherited more a light paler pigment in her skin. Her hair was long with more a lighter brown with a hint of auburn instead of the chocolate-colored hair her mother had. Nevertheless, she was still her mother's daughter. Elijah loved her all the same.

He knew then what she had meant about a package deal. She wasn't going to put herself into a relationship completely without her daughter being accepted into it. Elijah remembered her firm tone when she said so to him, and that's when he knew he wanted her even more. She put her family first before herself. She was loyal.

"Are you coming, Katerina?" He called her using his nickname for her. When he loved someone, he made sure he treated them like royalty. When it came to his wife, he made sure he treated her like a queen she deserved. Sometimes she had a higher taste in things, but she wasn't hard to please. She knew firsthand what it was like to start over for her at the age of fifteen. She knew life wasn't going to give her handouts on a silver platter. That's why there was an unspoken gratitude in her love for him that she was grateful to have met someone like Elijah. Their love was still going strong.

"Yeah, someone has to make breakfast anyway." She said as he watched her as she stretched her lithe body running a hand through dark curls. Sometimes Elijah could not get over how lucky he was to have a woman like her. Moreover, how gorgeous she was even getting out of bed. Damn.

"Oh, no. We're not taking that risk again." He wasn't going to let her anywhere near the stove again. Not over his dead body.

"Come on, 'Lijah. It hasn't been that bad." Katherine tried to compromise. She got Annabelle out of the bed as her daughter tried to rub the sleep out her eyes.

"Just because you've got lessons from Sage again doesn't mean I'm going to let you anywhere near the stove." Elijah explained as his son laughed at their conversation. Elijah had to suppress the laughter too tempting to come from his chest as he watched his wife give out a pout.

"At least let me prove to it to you before you make assumptions!" She glared at him annoyed crossing her arms her over her chest. Elijah came up to her and cracked an amused smile showing his white teeth. He leaned in and kissed her causing a wild reaction from their current "audience."

"EWWW!" Chase cried grossed out from their parents' affection for each other. However, Annabelle just watched with a quiet, but happy look. She was far more observant than anyone would give her credit for. She never talked unless she needed to. Annabelle didn't mind being different.

"You get yourself ready. I'll get the kids situated and make breakfast. How about that?" he asked with that rare wise cracking grin he had on his face.

Katherine smirked back flirtatious. "I'll take my time."

Elijah kissed her one more time before turning his attention back to the kids. "Who wants pancakes?"

"Me! Me! Me! Me!" Chase excitedly proclaimed.

"Okay. Okay. Calm down, son. We need to see if your sister wants some too," then he turned to his daughter. "Do you want pancakes?"

Annabelle nodded eagerly. "Please…"

Katherine never said it aloud, but in her face, it showed how it warmed her heart to see Elijah treating her as his own daughter. While Elijah tended to the kitchen and the children, that left Katherine with her own agenda of how to get ready. They weren't going anywhere today as far as she knew. She didn't have to go to the salon because she never worked on the weekend unless it was one of those special days like when Homecoming and Prom arrives.

Before leaving to go anywhere, she always had something trendy on. She made sure she looked her best for anything she had to confront. Sure, she was a bit of a perfectionist and a little vain that way. There was nothing wrong with fully admitting the known fact that she was beautiful, but it was different around inside of the house. She got the chance to let her guard down. She didn't have to have a certain reputation to uphold for everyone to see. It was only her husband and her children she was around.

She decided to get herself ready with pair of dark jeans and her favorite cute purple shirt. Kat brushed her out untangling the knots through her thick curly hair letting it tumble down her back. She decided only wash up her face, and put a bit of makeup.

About thirty minutes later, she came down the stairs walking her way into the kitchen coming upon her husband and kids entertaining themselves in the kitchen. Annabelle always had a coloring book in her hands trying to color each page she could, but every once in a while she would glance at her brother and father cutting up in the kitchen. Chase was keeping himself well entertained as Elijah flipped the pancake as if he was a chef from the Food Network.

It was a rare sight to see the man wearing anything casual; let alone seeing him in a pair of pajama pants and a shirt. No one ever saw in anything besides modern suits and his medical uniform whether it was scrubs or some other form of clothing. Katherine didn't know the full extent of whatever he does and neither did she want to. She wasn't into getting her hands all bloodied up. Her husband was a surgeon.

Nevertheless, seeing him having fun around his family was a good thing for him. This was the one place both of them can relax and not think about others. Just their family.

Speaking of family…

"All done." Elijah finished the pancakes each putting three pancakes for him and Katherine while there were two pancakes for Annabelle and Chase. When it comes to just the four of them, all of them would eat in the kitchen at the wooden table that had been with Katherine for a long time. Sentimental reasons, Katherine told him at the time. Although, when they had company over, they usually eat in the dining room.

"YAY! Pancakes!" Chase cheered as Elijah put the plate in front of him, though Elijah was a little bit shorter so he had to sit in a booster seat in a way to reach the table. Elijah made the pancakes just the way that each of them liked it. Chase loved the plain cakes with maple syrup with as much whipped cream he can want. However, as parents, there had to be a limit to what their child can have. If Chase had it his way, he would use the whole can of whipped cream resulting a very hyperactive three-year-old boy on a massive sugar rush. Once was an experience enough as it is.

Annabelle's was simple too. She loved her pancakes with blueberries. She loved any flavor in sweets that had blueberry or blue raspberry. She was crazy for anything blue. "Here's yours, darling."

His daughter was definitely satisfied with her breakfast. She dove into them immediately putting pieces of her blueberry pancakes into her mouth more than she can chew. But, then she ate them too fast causing her to cough.

Elijah immediately concerned tended to his daughter by rubbing her back, "Are you okay? Let it out, okay. There you go. Just breathe."

When she finally stopped coughing, her mother ended up reprimanding her for it. "Jesus! You just about to scare us to death. Next time, don't eat so fast!"

Annabelle couldn't help a sheepish smile that came onto her face. "Hehe…sorry, Mom. Sorry, Daddy."

Both parents can't stay mad at her for long. "Just be more careful."

Elijah then passed Katherine's plate to her. Let's just say Kat was definitely impressed, but she knew he was up to something. "You made my favorite? What are you trying to pull?"

"Who says I'm up to something?" he countered back giving her a coy smile.

Katherine arched an eyebrow. "Chocolate chip pancakes with strawberry syrup. Trust me, Elijah. You're up to something. It's very rare. Usually, the only Mikaelson I usually know who is up to something is Kol."

At the mention of Kol, Chase perked up. "Uncle Kol! Is he coming over today? Is he? Is he?"

"No, he's not. He has to be done with school before he can come home," Annabelle answered her brother's question.

"Aww…I wanna see him," he complained sullenly as he took another bite of his pancakes.

Elijah shrugged his shoulders. Apparently, his younger brother Kol was his son's favorite uncle. Put those two together, and you have an entire mess just waiting to happen. He almost cringed at the times he remembered the pranks his brother taught to his son ensuing chaos throughout his home. He always had to mentally prepare himself for when his younger brother stopped by. Currently, Kol was a student in college riding on a baseball scholarship. There were times more than he could count he had to cover his ass for some stupid stunt or trouble he had gotten into.

"Eat your pancakes," he told his son. Soon, everyone dove into his or her pancakes. Katherine savored the taste of strawberries and chocolate. This was good. She was somewhat glad she didn't cook today. She would have missed her favorite breakfast being made.

Later on, the kids had finished their breakfast as they went one by one to toss their dishes into the sink. Annabelle reached it fine with little difficultly even though she had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach the top of the sink. Chase, however, wasn't so lucky.

"Can't reach!" he complained about to throw a tantrum. Annabelle still in the room, she gently grabbed her younger brother's dishes and put them into the sink. She grabbed him by the hand, and led him to the living room to play. Katherine and Elijah were proud of her being attentive to her brother for one her age, but they were definitely happy to get some time alone which was rare when you have two kids under the age of ten.

"Is she really your daughter?" Elijah asked her.

Katherine huffed leaning against the countertop. "Of course, she is! She may not be much of a spitfire as I am, but she's still my daughter. What kind of question is that?"

"A good one." He wrapped his arms around her and started to leave lingering kisses down her neck. As much as she loved the attention, she needed to cut to the chase. She gently guided his head away from her neck holding him there with his arms still wrapped around her.

"Like I said," she started, "you're up to something. You might as well come out and tell me."

He sighed as he unwrapped himself around his wife as he leaned against the countertop beside her. Oh, how was he going to ask her? "Okay, let's talk."

"Aren't we doing that?" She asked redundantly giving him the same 'Duh!' look he swore his son inherited from his wife earlier.

"The reason why I was so late was because there was an unprecedented emergency," Elijah started to explain the story taking a sip of his coffee. However, he had never been a fan of the American brand; he did have to hand it to her. Katherine's homemade batch was truly delectable.

"Stefan brought in someone last minute. I'm sure you remember him." Elijah commented.

Katherine remembered the younger of the Salvatore brothers. She couldn't deny the fact he is rather attractive, but she had Elijah so it was good enough for her. Besides, it was best not to get into any drama with Rebekah after all. She tends to get a little possessive when it came to her relationships. Well, maybe "possessive" isn't the right word for it. Well, let's just say that one little episode Kat had heard from her sister-in-law was just enough cause for Rebekah to be very protective of Stefan.

Katherine was glad she wasn't involved with that. Sometimes, she just wondered why life seemed like a soap opera.

"Yeah. How could I not? The poor guy has more worry lines than how old I am. When are we going to get to the good part?" she asked.

"Here's the interesting part. She came in pregnant. He and Rebekah found the blonde dumped on the side of the road alone," he said it as he hoped it would sink in.

He knew this would cause a stir in her. The words "alone" and "pregnant" were just enough to silence his wife.

She stood there frozen taking it all in. It's been a while, but she still remembered those days like it was yesterday if she focused on it enough. She remembered a young girl of fifteen who made a mistake. Then she saw the same girl desperate and alone on her own. Then she saw the same girl hardened by everything around her growing up to defend her baby girl. All those feelings of helplessness and solitude came crashing down on her. Then it shifted to a blurry figure, but she could tell it was a blonde woman. The same woman was in her place.

People who knew her well knew that Kat's always been cautious with who she associates despite what actions may seem to be. She won't let people in unless she grows a certain trust. But, there were certain things that slipped through the cracks in her armor. Very few things made through the cracks.

"You came to ask for my help," she meant to ask him, but it came out more as a statement.

Elijah rarely saw Katherine being in a state of vulnerability. He gathered her into his arms and held her close against his chest. She stayed silent in his arms. He sensed the unspoken stress oozing from her body. One hand held the back of her head as his other hand was placed on the small of her back. "The choice is up to you, Katherine. You know I'm not going to make you do anything you're not comfortable with."

She took a deep breath. Her chocolate brown eyes peered into his earthy hazel ones. She knew what she had to do. "I hate it when it you do that."

"I'm not trying to manipulate you into anything," he reassured her.

She chuckled to herself. "That's the thing. You weren't trying to. It was genuine. That's what I hate. It makes me feel all of these…I don't know. Just give me more detail on the situation, and I'll see what I can do."

But, just when he was about to speak, a loud yell came from the living room. "MOMMY! DADDY!"

Both of them had an amused smile making its presence known.

Here we go again.

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

Seven days passed since Elijah ordered Klaus to take Caroline as his patient. Saying Klaus wasn't pleased didn't even fully describe how he really felt. How dare he! He wasn't a child anymore! But as much as Klaus wanted to strangle him just once, he still wouldn't do it because in the end Elijah would still be his brother whether he liked it or not. Elijah had saved his life more than he could count. He was the responsible one in the family growing up, but that was a story for another time. He didn't want to remember growing up.

It was around two and a half days later after their newest patient came in, the test results on the maternity of Sheriff Forbes and "Caroline" came back. The results came out positive proving the fact of the sheriff being honest the entire time. So what? Just because the sheriff proved to be useful just once, it still didn't change what Klaus thought of law-enforcement officers in general.

Klaus made doubly sure he never had to stay at the hospital more than he should. He went on about his business making sure he did just enough of his share, and he would head back home to his best friend: Jack Daniels.

He hadn't forgotten about their youngest patient too that had come to make a residence here. More than once, Klaus had passed the nursery to get where he was going, but he just walked straight by it. He didn't stop.

As always though, life always threw a wrench into his plans. It turned out that one of the doctors who were supposed to take the late shift was called out sick for some damn thing. Klaus thought it couldn't get worse. Well, he turned out wrong.

Elijah called him out of his plan, and was making sure he did his job like a babysitter. Yup, it couldn't get any worse.

He had about an hour left before his shift was over later that Friday night. Caroline was one of his last patients to check up on. He went to the ICU floor, and stopped by her room. Looking through the glass, he could see the blonde-haired woman who had taken residence in the room for nearly a week now. But, there beside her was the bloody sheriff. He had seen her practically every day since she's been given permission to stay longer. Sniveling little twit.

As always, Elijah had to make sure everyone was satisfied which made Klaus just want to throw something. Though he was never one to follow rules, he certainly would have enforced them furthering to stroke his ego.

He went inside of the room with Liz stopping from what she had been doing. Klaus assumed she was talking to her daughter. He hoped the young woman woke up soon. The sooner the better for him.

"I'm just here to check on her doing the routine checkup and I'll be on my way," he said curtly not wanting to waste any time.

"Sure, of course. I was just about to leave anyway. I've been here long enough. I need to get some sleep," Liz agreed.

Klaus had to bit his tongue preventing the unneeded words wanting to come up from his stomach like word vomit. He didn't need his brother more on his case than he was now. Elijah was overbearing as it was already despite the good nature behind the deed.

As he went through the routine process, he could feel the elder woman's eyes watching his every move. Oh, now they decided to be vigilant. Give him a break. He didn't need this. "It's rude to stare, you know."

"Klaus, let's cut to the chase. I know you don't like me for some…unknown reason. And to be honest, I don't need to know. All I know is that you have your job and I have mine. But, one of those other jobs I have is that I am a mother. I admit it."

What good does it now to admit it? He fought the urge to say something back. But, with Elijah's eyes watching him through the window (and yes, he did see him), he wasn't going to let his brother have the upper hand.

"You really thinking admitting your sins to me are going to make any of it less hard?" he asked her mockingly with steely eyes.

"You don't think I know that. Trust me, Klaus. I have enough guilt on my conscience. This is just a first step for me to make it right. I should have been a better mother to her. But, can we at least get along on a somewhat civil level?" Liz asked fully knowing that asking Klaus to be civil is like asking an aggressive dog to be nice. Long shot.

"Civil doesn't suit me, Sheriff," he replied to her giving her an honest answer.

"Hey, I tried." She said waving her hands in the air in surrender. "It's a start."

Klaus decided just to stay silent. He still wasn't going to embarrass himself in front of his brother.

"By the way, you're going to have to name my granddaughter sometime. She can't be nameless forever. I don't have right to name her because of some reasons. When you do name her, do it good. Don't do it for me. Do it for my daughter. Do it for Caroline." Liz told him before she left. As she walked out, Liz nodded to Elijah who shortly greeted the same courtesy as he watched after his brother.

Damn it! It happened again! Before he could rant on, he looked at Caroline who was still in a coma in her bed. He turned his back to the glass not sure now if his brother was there. He didn't acknowledge it so he just decided to talk just for the hell of it. "It's your fault, you know. If you hadn't been so reckless none of us would be in this bloody mess."

He took the time then to observe her. Caroline did have a natural beauty to her despite her current state. Her hair was thick with blonde waves that stopped to her cleavage. When he had checked her eyes earlier in the week, he had seen her eyes were a baby blue color. Her skin was smooth, but it was still recovering from the cuts and bruises she had. Klaus still hated those bastards who prey and hurt women like that in general.

"Look, I'll be honest. I'm not the best person to talk to. I have problems that are a mile long. Probably, when you wake up you won't stand the likes of me. I usually tend to have that effect on people," he chuckled bitterly. He glanced at his digital watch noticing he had about forty minutes left before the end of his shift. He looked at the blonde-haired woman lying in the bed one more time.

"I know you can hear this. I don't know if I can promise this, but I will do my best to make it a reality. I promise to make sure your daughter will be in safe hands. I promise you this," he said finally as he got up from the chair beside the bed. He glanced at her one more time before he left the room.

Standing in the hallway, he noticed his brother's presence was gone. That was weird even for Elijah. Bugger, he thought. He might as well face what he had been putting off for nearly a week.

His imagination though did run along a little bit wondering. Would Caroline's daughter have big blue eyes like those that she had? Brown? Maybe both? Would her daughter have the same blonde hair or would it be something else? Those questions swam in his head for a while.

Klaus stepped onto the elevator, and made his way to the nursery, which was located within the maternity ward. He got himself a cup of coffee before making his way there. He felt a bit of apprehension just thinking about it.

"Man up, Mikaelson," he ordered himself angrily. "Since when were you ever a coward?"

He looked at his watch again. It was a twenty minutes until midnight. Bloody great. He's really a coward now. Too afraid. Too cowardly. No, he's going to let it get to him.

He threw his coffee away harshly walking towards the door. The blinds in the nursery were pulled down since it was later in the evening. It was just procedure. In the open glass, he could see a few of the babies in there. Unknown pangs started to bubble up inside of his chest, but he squished them just in time to see the head of the nursery come up to greet him.

"Hello, Klaus," the brown-haired woman greeted him with a tender smile.

"Dr. Fell," he greeted her, but was caught off guard with her kind ways. He never thought he really deserved it from her of all people who didn't have a bad judgmental bone in her body.

"Is there anything I can help you with? If you're hungry, I have some left over sandwich left in my office if you want any," she offered to him. She had always been nicer and more social to him than Klaus was rather used to. Not that he was complaining.

He politely declined her using his charm. "No, thank you. I'm afraid that will have to wait for another day. I'm sure you have been in a bit of a dilemma for the past week."

It took a moment before she could answer to his statement. "Oh! I remember! Caroline Forbes' daughter. It's good you've come. I know you've been busy nonstop and I completely understand."

Oh, Meredith if you only knew.

"Her daughter is a rather vocal one. She has a loud set of lungs on her. It's too bad her mother can't see her right now being in a coma. Poor thing." Then as soon as she stopped speaking, both of their attention was turned to a sharp wail that echoed through the nursery.

In Klaus's vision, he could see one of the nurses trying to calm the wailing baby wrapped up in the pink blanket down. In Klaus's opinion, she was doing rather humiliatingly poorly. Damn, this is whom they hire these days. She so must be new. Bloody hell! Does he have to do everything?

"My God, are you that senseless?!" he exclaimed. "You're jostling her up too much. Where did your nursing degree? A cereal box!"

The nurse's babbling was just sending Klaus even more on edge with the baby girl's crying right by his ears. He decided to hell with this. It needed to stop.

"Give her to me," he told the nurse.

"But, Doctor…" she hesitated. Dr. Fell knew that it wasn't long before the man was going to snap.

"Just give her to him, Vicki. Take a break. He can handle it," she told the idiotic nurse. Well, the nurse to him was idiotic in his opinion. Maybe she was on drugs. None of that mattered.

Vicki gave the bawling baby to Klaus. He readjusted his hold over her as the baby started to tone down the crying, but it sounded more like mewling as time progressed.

"Finally, the noise stopped."

"I've seen you met our loud one here," Meredith joked as she cracked a smile.

"This is her?" Klaus asked in surprise. Moreover, surprise does not come to him often.

"That's Caroline's flesh and blood. As I said before, she definitely has a set of lungs. She weighted a lot when we weighted her in. Almost ten pounds. "

Klaus looked at the baby girl nestled in the blanket as he held her. It was too early to see where her genetics would take her in. He hated feeling nervous, but what the hell was he nervous about? He's taken care of his nieces and nephews before. It shouldn't be this hard. But the sound of the baby girl's whimpering was enough to tug on his heartstrings. Then as if Dr. Fell sensed his nervousness, she tentatively touched his arm unsure how he would react.

"There's a rocking chair over there if you need to sit down and get comfortable." She gestured to the chair in the corner.

"If you're underestimating my abilities…" he started.

"Oh, no! I just thought that since you've been working many hours, you could use a break on the job sorta. Hehe. You might as well sit there anyway. She needed to be fed anyway. Her schedule's for feeding is kind of still in trial and error right now at the moment. We're trying to feed her every two hours. She's having a hard time adjusting a little bit even though it's still breast milk. I'm hoping she'll get around to it soon. So, here. Just gently try to urge her to drink it. Maybe with someone new, they can get used to it more. Babies can sense how you feel. I can tell you've had experience with children before." Meredith handed Klaus the bottle as he went over to sit down.

All of the experience of taking care of his nieces and nephews started to work its way back to him. Her little face wasn't as scrunched up as before, but the whimpers were still there. "You caused a whole ruckus for something. You might as well get something out of it." However, as he brought the bottle to her mouth she turned away whining softly. Two more tries came and went leaving Klaus frustrated. Sighing tiredly, he knew he was going to regret anyone he knew catching him doing this, but there was no other way.

"Come on, love," he urged her softly. "It's okay. Just try it. It's okay."

Finally, with a third try, the baby girl was coaxed enough to take the bottle. Klaus held the bottle for her as she sucked the milk greedily. About half way through, he took it out of her mouth. She let out a small sound of protest as the bottle left her mouth. Amusement came to Klaus's blue gray eyes as he watched her face. "Oh, now you want more of it. You are sure funny about what you want."

He changed his hold of her, and brought her to his shoulder where he rubbed her back trying to burp her somehow. Meredith couldn't help, but watch the two with an amused look on her eyes. "Do you have any idea what you're going to name her?"

He shrugged a little bit. "No idea. There's a list of names Elijah found in the patient's pocket before he operated. It should be in my left pocket."

Meredith carefully walked toward them as she searched through his pocket to come across the feel of folded paper on her fingertips. She took her hand out and unfolded the piece of paper. There in writing was a list of names. However, most of them were scratched except for one that was circled.

_Sadie Nicole_

_Madison Grace_

_Amelia Chloe_

_Josephine Paige_

_Hannah Marie_

"The only one she seemed to like was the one she circled on the page," she explained to Klaus who finished burping her and had resumed to feeding the baby girl.

"Well, come out with it then! Don't keep me waiting." He remarked impatiently.

"Josephine Paige." That was all she said to him.

Klaus tilted his head in curiosity as he watched the baby girl nestled in the blanket. He could see some of the features of her mother present, but he wasn't really sure. He would have to find that out later on. Then he thought of the name. For some inconceivable reason he couldn't fathom, the name seemed to…suit her. A small smile crept up his face. "It's perfect. But, if you tell anyone of this you will be sorry."

"Don't worry, Klaus," she reassured him. "My lips are sealed."

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

**Meet Caroline's daughter! She finally has a name. This was definitely fun, but a little tricky to write. I'm proud that I finally got a long chapter in. Please review and tell me what you think of it. I think I almost died! I hope I didn't make Klaus too soft.**

**Please Review! **


	5. A Child's Truth is an Honest Truth

**A/n: Hi lovelies! I'm sorry it's been a while since I updated. I've been busy with exams and studying. Trust me, it's been a hectic week. Updates have been slow a little bit. Like I said before, I'm trying my best. I'm glad of the support for this story! I hope it's not too much, but I hope we can up the ante in the support a little bit. Just saying. I guess every author who works hard wants more reviews for their stories. It's typical. I'm not trying to pester anyone. **

**So far, I have 16 favorites, almost up to 2,100 views, and 46 alerts. Let's keep it going and make it higher. **

**More reviews equals faster updates! =D**

**LOL.**

**I would like to thank all those who reviewed! PsychVamp, Stephycats7785, Grace5231973, First Quadrant, Nameless Secret Keeper, MarsterRoo, klauslove, Sci-Fi Christian, and DarolineWritingGoddess. **

**Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well.**

**Please forgive me if there is any errors. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. **

Chapter 5: A Child's Truth is an Honest Truth

Elijah had a very rare slow day today at the hospital. However, slow days were one of the benefits of living in a small town. He was looking forward to spending time with his wife and two kids, but there was one more guest to the list.

He felt a tug on his sleeve as he helped his wife set up dinner. He turned around to see Annabelle with her brown eyes looking up to him. "Daddy, when is Uncle Nik coming?"

He smiled down at his daughter. "He'll be here soon. Don't fret."

Annabelle's face lit up as a Christmas tree excited about her uncle coming over. Niklaus was never the one for playing favorites, but Elijah had always seen that special fondness he had in for Elijah's stepdaughter. He knew there was a certain understanding his brother had to Annabelle he had yet to understand.

A knock was heard from the front door. Annabelle squealed and ran to the front door. "I'll get it!"

Annabelle's light brown hair swished behind her as she rushed to open the door. She opened it up wide to her favorite uncle standing outside.

"Uncle Nik!"

Klaus felt a smile tug on his lips as he took his excited niece into his arms. Well, she jumped into his arms and he had to catch her.

"Hello, sweetheart." He set her down on floor as he came inside of the house.

"UNCLE NIK!" then came his rambunctious nephew trailing in all of his…um…naked glory?

"CHASE KALEB MIKAELSON! YOU COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" a furious female voice blasted out as she came straight for her son. Klaus backed away from the fiery brown-haired woman who was not to be messed with when her feathers were ruffled.

"NO! I WANNA SEE UNCLE NIK!" the boy shouted. Klaus thankfully covered his niece's eyes before Chase flashed his sister's eyes making her go blind.

"I assume you have everything under control, Katherine," he stated yielding to her.

Katherine scooped up her boisterous son into her arms gazing at him with a scowl. "You bet your ass on that, Nik. Sometimes, I wonder who the disciplinarian around here is. It's hard to tell sometimes."

Not really.

Katherine turned to her son resuming her motherly role scolding her son. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young man. You're in a lot of trouble."

"But…but Mommy!" Chase started, but his mother cut him off.

"No, buts. You are coming with me." Kat fast paced up the stairs with her struggling son in tow. Klaus couldn't help, but be thankful he didn't have to watch over his nephew twenty-four/seven. Of course, he loved all his siblings' children, but sometimes they can be a little overwhelming.

It was then he saw his elder brother strolling towards him with an entertained smile.

"Hello, brother," he greeted.

"Hi, Elijah." Klaus greeted back.

Without warning, Elijah came closer to his younger brother and gave him a brotherly hug. "It's a good thing you didn't come late this time. Katherine would've thrown a fit."

Klaus almost shuddered at that thought of his imagination coming into fruition. Katherine was a woman not to be beckoned with. Very similar to his sister in that degree, he surmised. But, Klaus had only seen a glimpse of how petrifying the woman can get. Moreover, Klaus was a man to be frightened that easily. He just knew not to mess with her when it came to certain things, though he had an awful temptation sometimes to do it just to see what she would do.

"Can we go inside now?" Annabelle asked.

Her father smiled down at her. "Of course, Katherine didn't go through all the trouble for nothing."

It was true too. Elijah had told Katherine about what happened at the hospital, there was something inside of her that rather appearing more. She was willing to be more open a little bit. She knew personally from dealing with Niklaus before that the man had issues and stress a mile long. Maybe even longer. Issues on top of issues. Does anyone get the picture yet?

Anyway, Katherine was giving when she wanted to be. Therefore, she talked Elijah into inviting his younger brother and best friend to a small family dinner with just them and the kids. Even though, their youngest was still a handful. She thought that maybe Nik could use some downtime, but would she able to convince him of that? Nope. Not by a long shot. You would practically have to threaten him with a gun to his head to make him have an entire day off.

"Please don't tell me she cooked again," he prayed to God that woman didn't touch that blasted stove again.

"I helped her out. We made sure it was editable."

Unsure of his brother's words, Nik turned to his niece just to be sure.

She gave him a nod. "Don't worry. I was there."

He breathed out a sigh of relief. Whew. He didn't want her cooking messing up his digestive system like last time. He had a bad case of the runs for nearly three days. How did Annabelle made it through those years with her mother's cooking before Elijah came along? It raised a healthy curiosity in Nik's mind whenever he wondered about the answer to that question.

"Come on!" said Annabelle grabbing her uncle's hand leading him to the familiar dining room jogging in Niklaus' memory.

It brought him memories that were good, but then there was some he didn't want to remember. Nevertheless, some of the best memories lied with his family. Especially with the ones that never ceased to stop entertaining him; it gave him a small moment of peace that he desperately yearned for.

He had to admit that part of who made those memories special was his niece. There was calm albeit a peaceful essence about herself that she brings out every time she entered a room. Nik thought it maybe just a figment of his imagination. He wasn't sure. What he did know was that he actually looked forward to having a small gathering with his family.

In the dining room, everyone started to sit down. Elijah sat the end since he was the head of the household. Kat usually sat on his left while Nik sat on his right. Chase usually resided next to his mother most of the time due to her always having to stand by and reining him from his shenanigans. Then his niece would always sit next to him. She always sat next to him when he did stay with them for a little while.

When he first met her, Annabelle was never shy. She was just curious and observant. She was never usually a talker unless once she has to know you. Still, she was never like her younger brother who was as wild as a tornado in a trailer park.

Elijah's wife finally finished and made her way to the dining room with their three-year-old son in tow.

"Here, 'Lijah. Make sure Chase stays here while I bring everything out. The brat is really up in Troublemakingville." She warned as she disappeared for a second then reappearing with trays of food in her hands.

"I'm no twable maker." Chase argued. Well, argued as best as a three-year-old boy could.

Nik chuckled watching his nephew. Let's just hope he doesn't grow up to be a lawyer.

A few minutes later, the Katherine had brought out all the trays of food onto the table. The smells of the food drifted into Klaus's nostrils seemingly pleasant. Wary though, he peered into the inside of the containers briefly making out if the food was actually edible.

As if Katherine read his mind she said to him, "For God's sake, Nik! It's not like the food's crawling. Dig into it. It's just mashed potatoes and grilled chicken. Ask Elijah. He practically hounded over me the entire time!"

Nik glanced to his brother meeting Elijah's eyes. "It's true, but you know how she exaggerates."

Katherine bristled. "EXAGGERATE? I EXAGGERATE?"

"Let's just eat. This is a family dinner," Elijah said trying to mellow out the atmosphere. Klaus was just glad he wasn't married to Katherine. She's too much trouble for him. He's got enough crap to deal with.

He felt a small tap on his shoulder. Turning his head, he spotted Annabelle quietly giggling to herself. She leaned in towards his ear and whispered, "Don't worry about Mom. She's always like that."

He couldn't help, but agree silently as he watched his niece handle her mother.

"Honey, what're you spilling out to your uncle?" she inquired her daughter.

Annabelle, under her mother's watchful gaze, put her hands immediately in her lap and looked into the other direction "oblivious" to the question. "I didn't say anything."

"Yeah right," Kat sarcastically mumbled under her breath. She moved to her spot beside Elijah digging into the food first. But, with the cautious looks she's seen from her brother-in-law and some of her family, annoyance rose to her face.

They were waiting for her to eat it as if she was some sort of lab rat. Too lazy to complain, she took a serving of mashed potatoes and chicken and took a bite. It was good enough. She survived it. That should be enough for those scaredy cats.

"It's good. There's no poison so just eat, already."

Everyone started to dig in finally after all of the commotion. Damn, is it that hard? Seriously, the lessons from Sage on the weekend helped her out.

Nik watched the kids as they ate their food. Apparently, Annabelle didn't seem to mind to eat her mother's cooking. It didn't surprise him though, when Chase kept playing with his food as every boy was. Nik couldn't blame him. He remembered growing up as a child sitting at the table picking at his plate not really wanting to eat what was in front of him. Living with Elijah when the boy was still a toddler, he always detected there was a certain pickiness the boy had. It didn't surprise him none at all.

"You are going to stay later, right?" Annabelle asked him.

Klaus saw her brown eyes secretly pleading. Oh, why not? It couldn't hurt to spend some time with her.

"That's up to your parents, sweetheart," he answered her taking a bite into his chicken.

Annabelle shifted her eyes to the gaze of her father. "Please…"

Katherine knew he was going to cave in. It was only a matter of – "I'm sure your uncle wouldn't mind. It could do him some good."

See! It was sooner than Katherine thought of.

"So, Niklaus," Elijah began bringing up a topic of conversation, "How's your current patient doing at the moment?"

Klaus's body almost rigid, but he had it under control with face remained indifferent. "Like every other patient should be progressing, mate. She's healing, but she's still in a coma."

Katherine's hearing picked up on their conversation as she was busy trying to finish her eating. Unknowingly to them from their eyes, she threw second glances between her husband and brother-in-law watching the exchange.

But, just as they were getting deeper into the conversation ruckus started to arise in the form of Chase Kaleb Mikaelson. "Fire in the hole!"

He used his spoon like a catapult flinging garlic-mashed potatoes across the room.

_**SPLAT!**_

It landed directly in his sister's face.

A pregnant pause developed as the silence was deafening. Annabelle was too shocked. After a few long moments, Annabelle quickly got up from her chair and sprinted upstairs disappearing from her family's view.

Katherine was the first one to move. She briskly walked to the stairs, but before she left, she spoke to Elijah in a tone not to be messed with. "You tend to your son. I'm going to check on, Annabelle."

She left the dining room in a fast pace; her footsteps heard from the other room.

Elijah sighed heavily closing his eyes while he held the bridge of his nose. He was definitely going to rein in Kol and Chase if he had to at least reduce the chaos they cause in their wake. But, even the most calm of the Mikaelson siblings had lines you didn't cross. He had limits too. He's a human being.

He had some inkling of what he was dealing with when Katherine and he decided to expand their family. But, he never thought how trying it would be to raise a son of both Mikaelson and Petrova genes. It was almost practically lethal.

Klaus wasn't usually the one to stay out of family affairs, but he decided maybe today would be a nice change for once.

Elijah's usual clam yet pleased disposition turned into something much more serious. This was the fatherly instincts coming out of him. Nik didn't want to intrude so he quietly walked out of the room.

Doubt and old feelings of insecurity flooded through his brain. Maybe he should have stayed at home. The last thing he wanted was to be some time bomb going off at the slightest thing. But, he couldn't help but compare himself to that sort of standard. His fists clenched in his hands almost turning his knuckles white.

Get a grip.

"Nik…"

He took in the sight of his sister-in-law standing at the bottom of the stairs looking almost…forlorn. Wait, a minute. No. It was worry.

"What is it, Katherine?" he asked her shaking off the tension he felt just seconds before.

She stood there silent pondering how to say what she wanted to say. She was never one to permission or to ask for what she wanted. Begging was not in her nature either. Hell, Kat went after what she wanted regardless! But, this was one of those times where she had no other solution.

"Look, I'm not one for begging. You've known that as long as you've met me. However, I need you to do me a favor. Annabelle isn't speaking to me. I was thinking that maybe -"

"I'll check on her," he answered her without saying another word. .

Katherine gave him silent thanks before Klaus made his way up the staircase up to the hallway. A couple of doors later, he made to a soft white painted door with coloring pages taped all over the front. He knew without a doubt whose bedroom it was. Klaus made a mental note if to see that maybe she had any talent in drawing later on. He knocked on the door.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Nothing. There was just silence.

He tried again.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Go away," the young girl's voice answered softly, but the hurt could be heard in her tone.

"Annabelle, it's me. Come on, love. Let me in." he urged his niece.

"No one's there with you?"

"It's just me."

Few brief moments of waiting, he heard a small click of the lock of the doorknob turn. He slowly turned the knob with his hand stepping inside to his niece's bedroom.

The room was what you could describe as serene. It wasn't an overly too bright bedroom like most normal girls' bedroom would be. The walls were painted with a light olive green color with white crown molding along the ceiling, which was light beige. The smooth hard wood floors were covered with rugs of light pastel colors that don't blind you too badly, which please Klaus immensely. There was also paintings of tree and animal life on the walls almost bringing out a feel for a forest.

In the corner of the room next to the window was a twin-sized bed with a decorative white metal frame. The bed that encompassed the pillows, comforter, sheets; everything was colored in mainly baby blue, white, and pink. There were little slivers of other colors here and there, but the majority of the colors in the bed were in those three. The furniture and the rest of the stuff were also in either one of those colors, but there was also a darker green thrown into it.

In addition, one of the significant parts was on one of the pillows had her name sewn into it. Funny story to that was when they got it done when Kat and her daughter first moved in, the woman who had done it spelled it wrong. She spelled it 'Annabel' instead of 'Annabelle.'

There sitting on her bed clutching her stuff animal, her brown doe eyes met her uncle's stormy blues. Klaus closed the door behind him as he walked forward slowly as if trying not to scare her. He sat down on the edge of her bed hearing the small creak as his weight dropped into it.

He saw her young face cleaned away from all of the food. Her light brown hair in the front was still damp in the front.

"Do you want to go back downstairs?" he asked carefully.

She shook her head, "No."

Well, that was out of the question. He might as well try to find the underlying cause of it. This was definitely, not how he planned it at all.

His eyes wondered to the stuffed toy she held close to her chest. He half-grinned to himself. She still had that worn out thing. He remembered getting it for her birthday. It was either four or five years old when he gave it to her. See, Annabelle always loved anything colorful and imaginative. One of her favorite things that she absolutely loved was Alice in Wonderland. It didn't matter whether it was the older 1951 animated version or the brand new one recently made in 2010. She loved anything Alice in Wonderland. Nik, not known to really go out of his way for people, would beyond himself to make his family happy. (Though most of the time, they can drive him up the wall.) He had to go look online up and down online to see where the bloody thing was. Then by some sort of stroke of luck, he managed to snag the last one before it was sold out: stuffed toy of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. '

Funny thing about Annabelle was that she was never fond of the pink version of the cat in the older movie. If he remembered correctly, she'd said to him that the cat was too creepy. What he didn't get was how she never thought of the cat in the new movie didn't strike any alarms in her head. It sure did to Klaus.

"Are you going to talk at all?" he questioned her again.

"Nope." She said stubbornly.

Okay, maybe that's not going to work either.

He knew one plan that could succeed. It was worth a shot.

"Do you want to put in the movie?" he asked knowing exactly which one she would pick.

Annabelle's face perked up. She scrambled to the television already pressing play on the DVD player.

Klaus sighed. This was so not on his list of what he had planned for tonight.

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

"Remind me again why I am watching this?"

Both of them were on the bed watching the recent edition of Annabelle's favorite movie. To be honest, Klaus had to admit that he liked the newer one better. At least this one didn't seem all too annoy to him like the last version they watched.

Oh, how grating it was to his ears.

He even had the desperate urge to even beg Annabelle to fast-forward all the incessant singing that blasted Alice was singing. But, Annabelle was smart. She already knew of her uncle's plight before he voiced it.

"Because you love me." Leave it up to his niece to announce it for everyone in the world to hear.

"What is the whole attraction with these Disney movies to you?" he asked her curiously.

"I don't know. I guess part of it's that I wished part of my life was like a Disney movie. Always a happy ending on the horizon. But, there's more to it than that." she said simply. Annabelle wasn't sure how she's going to ask this question next. Usually, she was able to ask anything, but this was the first time she was hesitant.

Klaus had noticed it too.

"Uncle Nik…"she said his name slowly.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

Instead of answering, Annabelle climbed into his lap wanting more contact. Not one for much affection, it threw him off guard. But, he didn't mind the affection from the younger youth of his family. At least, it won't be that much of a weakness exposed.

"So do you like the new one or the old version of the movie more?" she asked.

"I can definitely tolerate the new one better. All of that singing and that blasted annoying voices from the other bloody were just a nightmare." He said honestly. He wasn't going to lie to her. Annabelle giggled a little bit. Her uncle always had a dry sense of humor not many people understood unless you've been around him long enough.

"You're funny…" she commented to him.

"Oh, I'm so hilarious." He cockily announced stroking his own ego.

They were watching the part in the movie where the battle between the White Queen and Red Queen's armies. He had to give them makers of the movie credit for the decent fighting scenes. He always tended to be a little critical, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Do you know who I think the Mad Hatter would be?" she asked throwing the question out in the air.

Nik feigned interest in his face. "And, who would that be?"

"Uncle Stefan."

Stefan Salvatore? Mad Hatter? What kind of cocked up equation did the child come with? How does anyone figure out the math of this problem? Oh, but now she got his interest. He had to hear this. "Oh, really?"

"Well, Aunt Bex told me. She told me how he can be very moody sometimes like an on and off switch. I can't explain it. She does it better than me," she told him.

Nik couldn't help the hearty laugh coming from his chest. Just the sheer imagination of this girl never stops ceasing to amaze him. She was definitely a Mikaelson to the complete end.

"I know who you would be," she chimed. Oh, she was just begging for him to ask her. Might as well go along with it for her sake.

"Okay, love. Who would I be?"

Here came the punch line.

"You would be the Knave of Hearts."

Okay. This isn't what he expected coming from her. "Any specific reason you think I would fit the role so perfectly?"

"Because you're very strong and hard. Like steel. But, you're capable of having feelings just like everyone else. Everyone deserves to be loved and forgiven. I know you do because you're my favorite uncle. I love you." The young girl told him as she nestled herself against his warm body.

Klaus felt his heart stop. He looked at the little girl in his arms. It shouldn't be so rare for a child's heart to be pure. But, what strikes him odd even now is the fact that this wonder loves him. Him! No matter his faults. No matter his flaws. He had to admit that he had come to love this one as his own family. Well, she was Elijah's first and fore mostly. He tried to unlock out of the Annabelle's hold, but she nuzzled closer to him rendering him unable to move without waking her up.

Tentatively, he wrapped an arm around her body watching his niece as her mouth turned up into a small smile in her sleep. Her peaceful presence soothed him as he looked at her in a tender gaze before he succumbed into a dreamless sleep.

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

**I'm sorry this isn't one of my best chapters. I am very tired right now, and I tend to rush through it sometimes. I'm not perfect. I still hope you review this! Check out my other stories: Wide Awake and my new Klaroline story, Louder Than Thunder. **

**Please review!**


	6. Brotherly Talks and Girl Talk

**A/n: I am so sorry for not updating this in so long! I have no excuse. It's pretty terrible even if I say it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. This isn't my best one either and it is kinda short.**

**Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.**

Chapter 6: Brotherly Talks and Girl Talk

It was a little while later when Annabelle finally had fallen asleep. As a light sleeper, Klaus didn't sleep for long. He only slept for about an hour, give or take. Quietly as he could, he slowly got from his niece's bed and tucked her back in again. Clutching to her stuffed cat tightly, she was completely tuckered out into dreamland. Chuckling at the sight, he moved her brown hair away from her face. Klaus made his way into the hall and closed the door behind him, but not before checking her one more time before he headed downstairs late in the time of night.

Waiting for him patiently in the living room, Elijah knew from experience that his younger brother wasn't always a creature of habit when it came to some things. Nevertheless, he learned to work around Niklaus' impulsiveness. Hearing his brother coming down the stairs, Elijah proceeded to pouring two glasses of scotch.

"I see you had a good nap," Elijah remarked, but his brother could see the joke lying underneath.

"Shut up, and save your breath." Klaus wasn't going to expose his softer side already. Elijah already had seen enough to believe it.

"Whatever you say, Niklaus. You don't need to put up this wall with me. It's not like I haven't seen anything new."

Klaus couldn't help, but react like that in such a manner. He often had to work himself to let his brother's words roll off of his back. Elijah always helped his family whether they wanted the help or not. That's just who he was. "Are you going to offer me a drink or are you going to neglect your duties as my host?"

Though, it was nice to see his brother more livelier bit by bit. "Pardon me," he excused himself offering his brother the glass, "it's the same brand we always drink. I'm sure you're familiar."

Klaus smirked as he grasped the crystal glass in his hand, letting the bitter liquid travel down to is natural destination. The scotch brought back many memories to him. He remembered the meaningful (and sometimes not) conversations he and Elijah shared just in the exact setting like this. Everyone else would be fast asleep leaving only the two brothers in company with the crackling of the fireplace as the only sound in the background.

"Ah, now this is the good stuff." Klaus stated relishing the familiar taste.

"I'm glad that hasn't changed." Elijah agreed as he sat down in one of armchairs.

Klaus knew Elijah was up to something. He might as well find out sooner rather than later. "Elijah, what's the meaning of this? You know that I'm not so easily fooled."

The elder brother rolled his eyes at that statement. Now on that, he would have to disagree. Elijah had seen how taken or should he dare say "whipped" Niklaus became when he came around his kids. With one upturn of a smile and among other tactics kids used, Klaus would never show it, but he could be turned into jelly within minutes inside. Given, they were the only kids that he was close to. Mostly, it was just with family.

"If you insist brother, I will come straight to the point. It's about your new patient." Elijah told him, his eyes lingering on his brother's movements, knowing what he would do next.

Klaus dismissed his brother's notion with the wave of his hand. "I get new patients coming in and out everyday. I can't always figure out what you mean."

Elijah sighed as his typical predictions of his brother's actions had come to pass. "You know exactly of whom I'm speaking of."

His brother's face went blank. Elijah knew that Klaus recognized just of whom he was referring to. A certain comatose blonde who remained in a coma. Caroline. Sweet Caroline. Then again, he could be referring to her offspring too.

"What about her?" Klaus asked flippantly, twirling the scotch in his glass.

"It's a simple question. I wanted to know of her progress. Doctor to doctor, you know." His elder brother answered back.

"Josie is faring well from when last I visited." That little girl had to be over a couple weeks old maybe. He didn't quite remember the math, but it didn't matter. Even as young as the newborn was, it took an early start into developing her personality. The most potent one was the fact that the child's stubbornness shining through. And also with a healthy set of loud lungs to boot.

"Josie?"

"I had to name her daughter. It seemed to be appropriate at the time," he reasoned. Klaus was never good with names at all, but the name suited her. He imagined Caroline to be a strong individual with a good head on her shoulders. All women he usually saw were too easy, something told him that Caroline wasn't. Especially with her situation, his assumptions were usually spot on.

"Oh, I know about how you named her child. I just found it surprising that you already came out with a nickname for her already." A small perceptive smile ghosted over Elijah's face. "In fact, I think it's a nice idea for you to do something other than cling to the past in your spare time."

Klaus' back went rigid at the mention of his black-infested past. His eyes hardened to a steely blue gray as he recalled the horrid memories, trying to block them out. "Elijah, don't talk about things you don't understand."

"Maybe not from your view, but I'm your brother nevertheless. I was there with you when it happened. It was a tragic day for all of us." No one in the Mikaelson family forgot what happened, but ever since that dark day, an unspoken rule was created. They were to never speak of the tragic travesty. Even Elijah enforced it upon his children to not make their uncle upset. If no one spoke it, everything would be easier to deal with but it didn't ease the hurt or guilt. And now, Elijah was bending this rule for his brother's sake.

His blood boiled. "What do you expect from me, Elijah?! To be glowing with happiness? To have moved on from since then? Well excuse me, but things like that take time." Klaus whispered harshly, trying to contain his temper from waking the other sleeping occupants upstairs.

"All I'm saying is that it's good for you not to dwell on what has already happened. I'm only trying to help you. Don't condemn me of my effort." Elijah implored his brother as he finished his glass of scotch. This was enough drinking for one night.

Klaus' bristled form relaxed slightly as he downed the rest of his drink, putting the empty glass on the tray where it was originally placed. "I suggest you change the subject to something more...relevant."

"Gladly," Elijah followed through, "How is Caroline?"

"She's healing, that's all that matters. No progress in her coma so far. Who knows when she will wake up." Klaus was adamant on making sure he knew of her progress, but the incompetence of people these days was baffling. He was lucky that no one had screwed up anything.

"Well, I'm glad that she is progress well. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to ask a favor." Great, more favors. This ought to be good.

"What is it, Elijah?" Klaus asked, hating to wait as Elijah beat around the bush.

"Do you mind if Katherine made a visit to Caroline's room some time next week? I think it would be great for your patient to have someone that's around her age to mingle with her," Elijah suggested, waiting for his brother's response.

Klaus gripped his chin with his hand, pondering over the subject. It wouldn't be bad to someone closer to her age and actually a female to help progress in her health. Maybe with this, she could have the incentive to wake up from her coma and return to the land of the living. Even if Katherine was a tad bit crazy, it had came to pass that in some way he did manage to have some trust with the strange relationship they have.

"All right, but she's your responsibility."

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

"Are you sure that you still want to do this?"

"Elijah, you talked me into this and now you're asking me if I want to back out? You're going to get what you want. I'm not backing down from this."

"I'm just making sure that..."

"Well, don't do it then. Cut it out, I'll be fine." Katherine reassured him for the umpteenth time as she headed to Caroline's hospital room with her husband as her guide. She didn't know this place like the back of her hand like Elijah. Often many times she had to ask the nursing staff for directions from making a wrong turn down a hall or stepping onto the wrong floor.

"You know how I am." Elijah pointed out. He cared very much for the wellbeing of his family, especially his immediate family. They finally reached to their destination as he guided his wife to the door of Caroline's room with little difficulty.

Katherine raised her chin confidently, a smirk turning the corners of her lips as she kissed him. "And that's what I love among the other traits you have. Some I do love, and some I can't stand."

He knew of what she was talking about, and he couldn't help but laugh. It was no secret that the Mikaelson brothers weren't only known for their expertise in the medical field. Anyone with ovaries could see and admit about the handsome features and charms only a male Mikaelson could possess. Let's not forget the unforgettable and desirable accents as a bonus. It seemed almost criminal to be that gorgeous or anything close to that. Though, those flirty little eyes that stared at Elijah when he passed by never deterred him from where his heart truly lies. Still, it didn't change the fact that Katherine still got annoyed by it.

Then again, Katherine was different above the rest. She doesn't idly standby and stomp her feet wishing for something different. She was a go-getter. Katherine makes things happen. As a Mikaelson woman, whether married into or biologically related, there's a certain reputation and standard one must uphold among the female population. Or at least in Mystic Falls. Kat had her own method of upstaging.

She's strong, and crafty, and you'll lose. Simple as that.

Instead of using the "Rebekah method", Kat had her own ways of coming out on top. It's nothing personal. She was just always competitive. You have to be in this world that we live in.

Katherine showed her best through her actions in subtle ways. From her attitude to everything else in between, Katherine always pulled it off like a natural.

Elijah leaned in and held her in his arms and whispered seductively close to her ear. "Don't worry. My heart only belongs to you, Katerina. You're mea regina."

"Not in public!" she hissed. "Are you insane?!"

"No, just in love."

"Okay, now you're getting way too sappy. Go ahead and do your job. I'll be fine on my own." Katherine gave him one more kiss for everyone to see. There was nothing wrong or sinful in showing off her man. It's pretty fun.

"Call me if you need anything." He reminded her before he started his rounds.

"Will you just go already?!" Katherine exclaimed with her curly hair whipping behind her. As Elijah left her behind, she took a deep breath before entering the blond patient's room. She felt a bit awkward considering that she was entering a stranger's room, but she knew of what her purpose of being here in the first place.

The beeps from the machines chirped while the wires from it connected to the blonde patient, the quiet breathing, and followed by the clicks of Katherine's heels were the only sounds in the silence of the room. She glanced over at the young comatose woman who rested in the bed, appalled by the way her hair was unkempt. "Oh honey, you look terrible. Good thing I always come prepared in case for emergencies."

Setting her purse down on the floor, she took out a pair of latex gloves and a hairbrush. Katherine slipped on the gloves, paranoid of the germs that might run about in this place. You could never be too careful.

Grabbing the brush, she raked through the blonde hair as the bristles untangled the knots and gnarls. The brunette didn't know what to say first thing so she carried out the conversation like it was a regular girl-to-girl chat.

"Men will never understand us girls, huh? They would so be lost if it weren't for us." Katherine eyes drifted to Caroline's ever regressing belly that once housed the precious life that was her daughter. She could feel the solitude of Caroline in this situation, a feeling that the brunette was familiar with all too well. Truthfully, she could care less with other people's problems. Many people would be quick to judge and label her as selfish, but she didn't care. It was a protective mechanism that suited to her needs. She only focused on family and her few closest friends. No one else, but them.

After she finished brushing through Caroline's hair, she sat beside the comatose girl in the chair trying to think of what she wanted to say next. Leave it up to her to screw up socially, to a girl who was currently comatose for that matter. "Listen," Kat began, "I don't know what lead you here or your situation, but I do know something that's related to this. I may be wrong so don't be mad at me when you wake up. That's the last thing I need. Having Klaus and you down my throat it wasn't what I'm particularly fond of."

Normally, Katherine would have expected a laugh or some response back. It's not the case this time, but it's nothing that the brunette couldn't handle. She was well adept and she was sure that Caroline came from good stock. Men underestimate the skills that women possessed. That instinct to survive and pursue on was rooted deep inside of every woman. It's just a matter of how deep enough you're willing to dig to bring it up for your own devices.

She gripped Caroline's hand, casting a sideways glance to the glass windows in case someone was peering in. This was easy, but she was willing to help another woman in need if it prevented from what Katherine had to go through. Sure, it wasn't exactly but it wasn't the little details that mattered. In this aspect, it was the bigger picture that brought a wider spectrum.

"You get better, do you understand me? There's a little girl who needs her mother and only one person can fit that role. That's you. And if you don't wake up..." her voice trailed as she gasped silently in shock. There were tears coming out of blonde's eyes. Though closed, the tears dripped down her cheeks. Katherine read once or at least heard from Elijah that coma patients could hear and respond in small ways to sounds and voices around them. Those tears gave confirmation that Kat needed to see. Perhaps after all, she could help out this lost soul and make things right for a change. With all of the craziness and scary things in the world, light can come and shine through for once. Maybe today will be that start that everyone she knew needed.


	7. Trouble

**A/n: I'm sorry I haven't updated this. Writer's block and life closing in on you is such a bitch. I promise you, it's not pretty. I'm going to do better with this story since it's less complicated. There's just so much going on right now. I hope you like the chapter.**

**I want to thank Cilla for being the best friend I needed. It's been such an emotional rollercoaster ride, I don't know what I would do without you. Check out her stories. Anyone who's a Delena fan, there's a new Delena story out called Guns N' Roses. I totally recommend it. She's bloody brilliant. **

**Please Review! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries!**

Chapter 7: Trouble

Wedding plans are such a bitch. It's something that the bridal magazines never say.

Also, Rebekah Mikaelson was on a tight schedule.

Rebekah never thought that she'd be as happy as she was now. With her previous romances in her track record not so pretty, the young woman was reluctant to believe that she'd be able to find love in someone who would actually last. One bitten and twice shy really didn't suit Rebekah's case. More like once bitten and twice as much of a bitch.

But, that was Rebekah's line of defense. Becoming the bitch hid the hurt and the tender heart she possessed. Rebekah was a woman who loved fiercely, but fell in love too easily. Despite of what it may appear, she was one of those women who loved a romance that could be like a Disney movie. Those little moments of being swept away by a Prince Charming or having the happily ever after made the blonde's heart grow wings. Of course, that would make her tastes a little more...rare in someone to fit that standard. In order for her not to get kicked into the dust, she kept that part of her under lock and key until she knew for sure.

Finding the one in Stefan Salvatore was a little unexpected to say the least.

They met a year and a half ago, right around in the hot summer of Virginia Beach. Rebekah had been visiting her brothers at the time to check up on them. She was wracked with worry for Elijah and Klaus with the peculiar incident still fresh two years ago. As their sister, she had every right to see them. They would always care for each other. Always and forever.

As the baby of the family, her parents were reluctant in letting their only daughter going out of the country. How can they say that when her twin brother accepted the scholarship to play baseball in the US? She demanded not to be caged up any longer. After finally bending them to her will, Rebekah took the first flight to Mystic Falls, Virginia. The summer holiday was just about to end, but she wanted to see her family. A vacation was always in need so she took the opportunity gladly.

As she watched her niece and nephew while their parents went out for lunch, Rebekah's life changed when a certain Salvatore strolled in to help her out of the water when she fell. Who'd thought that love at first sight would actually be real? It seemed impossible at the time, but Rebekah secretly kept her fingers crossed.

What turned out as casual conversations and small outings shifted to something more...meaningful. Little did she know that Stefan Salvatore was carrying baggage just as the next person did. Stefan and Rebekah's relationship grew and blossomed into something the young blonde didn't expect. Happiness was in her horizons after all.

And now, here she was. Sitting at the dining table in her sister-in-law's home, both of the Mikaelson women had been browsing through the pile of bridal magazines for the better part of the afternoon. Rebekah had been adamant on making sure that no detail was left unturned when it came to her wedding. She wanted it to be just right, and she knew that she deserved it. Nothing wrong with wanting the best. Rebekah maybe spoiled in her way of thinking slightly, but it didn't undermine the good person she was.

"What do you think of this one?" Rebekah asked Katherine for her opinion, pointing with her index finger to one of the dresses in the bridal magazine. With the wedding only a few months away, there were a few things that needed to be taken care of.

Katherine glanced at the picture, shaking her head in disapproval. "Way too old fashioned. I know your fashion sense is a lot better than that. Look for something better."

Old fashioned? "I'll have you know that there's nothing wrong with the dress or my taste in fashion." Rebekah argued, her icy blue eyes narrowing at her. Slightly chilly from the cold weather outside, she took a sip of her still warm latte. The warm liquid traveled down her throat, making her relax easier as they went through one of the more...less stressful parts of the planning.

"Come on, Rebekah. I know this isn't the easiest thing in the world to deal with, but it's not rocket science. It's almost the end of February, and the wedding is in April. You need to pick something ahead of time." Katherine stipulated, stressful memories of her own wedding plan not too many years ago coming back to her. Her hair nearly turned gray of trying to make sure everything went smoothly. It's not like it was a total rare thing. Any bride of the wedding would be stressed with all that's encompassed to make a wedding a successful yet enjoyable event.

"I know! I know! You don't need to remind me." Rebekah said annoyed.

"Mommy!"

Katherine almost cringed at the sound of her son's voice, echoing through the house. God, is he always going to be this loud? Annabelle was never like this. Wherever the loud trait came from, it didn't come from her. As far as Katherine knew, of course. Turning her attention away from the bridal magazines, she counted down mentally in her head for her so to rush in like a little boy wonder.

Did she really have to say the numbers?

"Mommy!" Chase sprawled in with his flop of brown hair whipping in his eyes as he came toward his mother. Katherine's eyes scrutinized her son's ever growing hair, which desperately needed a trimming. Thank God for her specialties. "Look, what I did!"

"At what, hon?" Kat asked, wondering if she should go along with this.

"I did potty, Mommy!" he yelled excitedly, jumping up and down like a leap frog on drugs.

Katherine's brown eyes widened in surprise. "Great job, sweetie. I''m so proud of you."

"Come see, Mommy! Come see!" Chase demanded with the corners of his mouth supporting the huge grin on his face. He grabbed his mother's hand, trying to drag her out of the chair and away from the table with surprising strength. "Let's go now!"

"Hold your horses, son. I'm coming." His mother said before turning back to Rebekah, "Go ahead and take a break if you want, I won't be long. I just have to take care of him."

"That's fine." Rebekah nodded as she watched mother and son went on their way up the stairs doing God knows what. As she went ahead and browsed further along into the endless sea of bridal magazines, her cell phone beeped. Her eyes caught the name of the contact who sent the message. She smirked at the name, reading at the sly message.

_S: So, how's the wedding planning coming along?_

She rolled her eyes at the question. Did he really ask that stupid question? It's not all full of rainbows and unicorns. Typing back on her phone, she hoped he could imagine the annoyed glare in her face of just dealing with these tedious details.

_Bex: How do you bloody think it's going? Be thankful you're not the bride and that you're the groom._

The blonde was glad that her fiancee didn't have the Mikaelson temper that tended to run ugly at times. He always somehow managed to be the voice of reason for her when her emotions ran wild. Surprisingly, he replied back to her in record timing.

_S: You didn't want to go through the trouble of having a wedding planner. _

At that text, Rebekah could perfectly imagine seeing the sassy glint in his face, which made her blood boil. And he did one of the most stupidest moves in the book that a groom could say to an already tense bride. Morphing into Bridezilla, Rebekah's temper finally blew a top. Oh, he was going to get it.

_Bex: You know what? FINE! Go get a planner then for all I care! If it will make you stop bugging me about it?!_

Finishing the furiously typed text message, the temptation to throw her phone across the room seemed all too good to resist. Rebekah was better than that, though. Any tense and nervous bride was guaranteed to have Bridezilla moments here and there. But there's always the ones who turned into bitchy monsters when things don't go their way. Rebekah isn't going to stoop to that level. It would be beyond humiliating.

Hearing the beep of her phone again, she ignored it knowing full well that it would be a waste of time to respond. Stefan can keep up what most people like to call it the "Sassy Stefan" routine for all eternity. God help her if the supernatural legends did exist when it comes to vampires. Rebekah didn't have the patience for it.

Rebekah's little bitchy moment was interrupted when Katherine came down the stairs. The blonde was surprised to see her usually fabulous looking sister-in-law take on a...more soccer-mom turn in appearance. Her curly brown hair that was previously down was thrown into a messy ponytail, neon yellow rubber gloves covered Kat's hands, and her clothes were changed into a pair of sweats and a cotton shirt. What really brough Rebekah to her senses was the rank smell making its presence known.

"What happened?" Rebekah asked as she covered her nose with her hands, her voice rising an octave above normal. "And what's that God-awful smell?"

"Shit happened." Katherine blatantly pointed out as she raised the plastic clear garbage bag that held a dark substance. God, the perils of being a mother really test your limits.

Rebekah was stunned in silence. What the hell happened?

"Thank God, Annabelle's in school. Two kids around Chase's age group will drive me to insanity." The brunette spoke as she tossed the stinky bag into the trash bin in the laundry room, which reminded her that it was trash day today. More stuff for her to do, even on her day off. "Why don't we just take an extended break? Both of us need it."

Rebekah didn't have to ask her twice.

**{Time Heals All Wounds}**

It was later within the evening of the same day where Klaus continued to make his rounds. He was going to have a long night ahead of him so he might as well make use of it. The English doctor was determined to make sure that Caroline's health would improve. And she had been improving. The previous injuries she received were healing well, she had lost most of her post-pregnancy weight, and she had been placed on a special liquid diet to ensure nutrition. There were also other things that needed to be considered with this certain case. The health of the child too was also taken into consideration. Thanks to Dr. Meredith, one of the nurses rolled in the bassinet of his still comatose patient's daughter to have them start a bond or at least try to get the little girl to be familiar with her mother. It had been a routine over the last month since Caroline was instituted into care, and there were also signs of improvement with the moments with her daughter despite her state.

Speaking of her daughter...

"Hello, love. Remember me..." Klaus murmured softly as he came into the room, his accented tone warm and rich like honey dripping off of a spoon.

The baby girl squealed happily in response, her arms stretching upwards for Klaus to pick her up. Her wide dark blue eyes opened with a brightness and light only a child could give to the world. He gladly responded to her request by crouching into the bassinet and cradled her head in the crook of his elbow. Sometimes, it seemed surreal about the whole thing. How healthy Josephine was after a difficult situation. He admired the little one who seemed to have inherited not only her natural beauty from her mother, but also her strength as well.

"Josie, what trouble have you been up to now?" He asked in amusement as he gently rocked her. The little girl kept trying to grab his finger, her stubbornness probably already coming into light. Klaus relented and let her grasp his finger. He was surprised in the strength the little girl possessed for just a one month old. "I hear you've been screaming several of our nurses into next week."

It was true. There was only certain people who she didn't scream at, and that was Dr. Meredith Fell and Dr. Klaus Mikaelson. If they weren't there, she flat out refused to be quiet until they came to the rescue. Hence some of the crying fits Klaus had to take care of when he came to visit.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I don't blame you for it. Some of these nurses here drive me mad." He commented honestly, shuddering almost of the hordes of annoying women who flocked over him. Klaus laughed a little bit, but the laughter didn't meet his eyes. Bittersweet pangs in his chest forming as Klaus sat down next to the bed in the plastic white chair. As he glanced back between Josephine and Caroline, the cruel reality of the situation was there. As much Klaus wanted to continue to be stubborn and hope for Caroline to awaken, other scenarios had to be addressed. Like what would happen if Caroline didn't - no. Klaus didn't want to think about it now.

This all seemed to familiar yet it was so different. Like replaying a film, but certain items were edited out and replaced with something new. This whole month had been a giant waiting game, and it was taking its toll on everyone. There's only so much people can do, and situations were going to have to be made.

Trying to hide his negative feelings, he focused on the little girl who was in his arms. It wasn't like him to easily get attached, but he couldn't help the pull Caroline and her daughter held over him. Daring himself, he slowly raised his hand to stroke the peach fuzz of hair sitting on Josie's head. What is it about a baby that could bring you down to your knees?

"You need to be strong for your mother. Both of you need each other." He said solemnly, hoping for Caroline to hear this.

His blue eyes looked back at the young mother, wondering on what he should do. Deciding to bring her daughter to her, he laid the baby girl on her stomach, setting her on Caroline's chest.

"Caroline, you're daughter needs you. You can't give up now. If I know you like I think I do, I know you're a fighter." Klaus' voice was tight with anxiety. It was so difficult to get these words out of his mouth. He grasped her hand into her hers, squeezing as if he was giving a piece of his life into her.

"Love, if you don't do it for me...do for your daughter..._please_..." The last word of his plea was husky in his tone.

When he expected a change in the sounds of the monitors, reality came into a screeching halt within moments. Tears came stood on his patient's cheeks, like she had heard his plea. But the only sound of what should be a steady was actually the heartbreaking sound of a heart flatlining.


End file.
